If you just recently planted a new fruit tree, I think it's safe to assume that you are not an expert on the subject yet. More fruit trees die in their early years due to poor care habits than any disease or epidemic. That's why it's important that you understand how to care for trees in a way that ensures their immediate success and good health in the future.
During the first stages of a tree's life, the roots, stem and branches are not yet fully developed and developed into a self-sustaining force. So if your tree is bearing fruit, sometimes the combined weight is enough to break an entire branch. If so, you should provide outside support for your branches - support them with boards, or tie them to something at a higher height. As long as you can provide your tree with the support it needs in these early years, it should grow to be independent in no time.
Proper nutrition is essential not only for healthy fruit production, but also for the tree to survive for more than a season. Exact specifications vary with region, climate, and tree type, but I've found no better source than a nursery employee. They may be eager to sell you the right kind of fertilizer, but in my experience they are almost never wrong. Simply tell them what conditions your tree is living in and how healthy it looks, and they will be able to help you find something to improve the condition of your tree.
Many people think that the only way to ensure the health of a tree is to provide it with plenty of water. This is not the case at all. In fact, giving a tree too much water can be more harmful than making it thirsty. At most, it will have a negative effect on the taste of the fruit. But the worst part is that your entire tree may die and prevent you from producing fruit anytime in the future. So never try to solve your problems by giving a lot of water! Solve your tree's health problems from the root, so to speak. Go where the problem arises and fix it.
If it's too late, and you're already starting to see unhealthy branches that look either diseased or damaged, you should always remove them. If the tree is wasting nutrients by sending them to a branch that cannot be saved, it is throwing away practically all the nutrients it can use on other, healthier branches. As soon as you see a branch that is dying or becoming unhealthy, cut it off immediately. At the very least, trim off the unhealthy part, but leave any sections that still look like they can continue to grow.
Once your tree begins to enter the harvesting stage, never leave any fruit on the ground that is bound to fall. Also, be careful to remove every piece of the tree. Even if it's a **** looking fruit you don't want to keep, you should still pick it up and throw it away. Once these fruits begin to rot, they provide an ideal home for unwanted insects or diseases that can transfer to the tree itself. So always remember to rake these fallen fruits, and save yourself from a lot of future miseries.
Getting a fruit tree and taking care of it for a lifetime can be a daunting task. Keeping track of all the factors that make a tree healthy can sometimes seem impossible. But if you focus only on the nutrients your tree needs, you should be on a good track. In addition to nutrients, find out the right amount of water you need to quench your tree's thirst without overwhelming it. Just do all these things, and you'll have a big tree that will produce delicious fruit.
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